Has eBay lost its sense of humour? A Cambridge University student believes it has. Unable to pay his £12,600 tuition fees, he put himself up for 'sale' on the internet auction website. Just as he was hoping the stunt would result in a deal, eBay banned his listing in what he calls a 'pedantic and draconian' move.

Dean Robinson, who has won a postgraduate place, hoped to join the ranks of a 50,000-year-old woolly mammoth skeleton and some tablespoons of water said to be left over from a polystyrene cup used by Elvis Presley among the more unusual bargains sold by one of the most successful sites in the world.

The 25-year-old posted a page under the heading: 'Sponsor & employ a Cambridge postgrad student. Go on. Invest in the education of this brilliant man today.' The starting bid was listed at £12,603.33 and accompanied by photos of Robinson and his Cambridge acceptance letter.

Robinson, from Leicester, got a first-class degree in IT and computing from the Open University. Winning a place at Cambridge was a dream come true, but he was dismayed when the university insisted he must have £12,600 in his bank as proof he can afford the one-year fees and living costs. He is £2,000 in debt.

On eBay he explained he needs the money to fund his postgraduate diploma in computer science starting in October and wanted to sell himself 'into proper, respectable employment, mind - no funny stuff'. He added: 'Yes, you could be the proud benefactor to, and employer of, a Cambridge University graduate for an entire year (negotiable) and all that is asked for in return is the aforementioned financial backing. I would even work for a cut-down rate during the employment phase. It's a win-win situation.'

Robinson said the page had been viewed 1,500 times before eBay told him in an email: 'Your listing breached eBay's No Item policy and has been removed ... You may not list intangible items or items whose existence cannot be verified, such as ghosts, souls or spirits.'

Robinson said the ban was 'completely pedantic and draconian and presumably sent by some jobsworth. You only need a dash of common sense and discretion to see that it's fun and very real. It's publicity for them as much as anyone. I hadn't had any bids, but it was building up a head of steam when they sent me the letter saying it's been removed.'

He is not the first would-be seller to accuse eBay of being a killjoy. Rosie Reid attempted to sell her virginity for £8,400 but the site removed the listing, forcing her to finish the auction on her own website: the buyer, a 44-year-old divorced father of two, 'collected' his purchase in a London hotel room in March 2004. Another user, Andrew Emery, said a friend had listed his 'eternal love and friendship' and had several interested bidders, but 'received a particularly tetchy email from eBay administrators asking him not to list such things as they're not tangible products'. Ebay denied it was a spoilsport, claiming Robinson's offer was too vague.

Vanessa Canzini, a spokeswoman, said: 'In the listing he talks about "sponsorship" and "employ" which would have hit our keywords for spamming. He also uses words like "negotiable" and "rates", so you wonder what is this guy offering? I suggest he looks at the email we've sent him. His listing is all over the place. He needs to be clearer what the buyer could expect.'

She pointed to the example of Nicael Holt, an Australian student who earlier this year auctioned his life on eBay, offering his name, phone number, worldly possessions and circle of friends to the highest bidder.

Bidding was permitted because eBay deemed the listing to be sufficiently detailed and tangible. It closed at $A7,500 (£3,114).